The present invention relates to apparatus for introducing and evacuating fluids to and from the stomach and more specifically to a nasogastric tube system which minimizes damage to tissue during insertion.
Gastric tubes are used for introducing fluids into the stomach and evacuating fluids from the stomach. Most gastric tubes are nasogastric tubes, i.e., they are inserted through the nose rather than the mouth in order to avoid gagging the patient. Nasogastric tubes pass through the nostril, nasopharynx, oropharynx, and esophagus and into the stomach.
The commonly-used nasogastric tube is difficult to negotiate through the nasal passageways into the esophagus. The current practice of inserting the tube by force through the nasal passageways without guide apparatus tears and abrades tissues in the nostril and nasopharynx and causes the patient discomfort. Furthermore, if the tube is inadvertently inserted past the epiglottis and into the trachea instead of the esophagus, the patient's larynx, or vocal cords, could be damaged by the tube.
Other known methods for inserting a nasogastric tube use a weight connected by a string to the end of the tube. The weight is inserted through the nostril to the nasopharynx, after which it is swallowed. Peristaltic action of the involuntary muscles of the esophagus forces the weight downwardly. The nasogastric tube is drawn downwardly by the string. However, one problem with inserting a nasogastric tube with an attached weight is that involuntary muscle action in the esophagus will swallow the weight and draw the tube through the nostril, nasopharynx, oropharynx, and esophagus rapidly and uncontrollably. If the tube impinges tissue in the passageways, the tube will tear or abrade the tissue as it is drawn by the peristaltic action of the involuntary muscles acting on the weight.
Another problem with this known method is that the weight is difficult to retrieve. The weight is either permanently attached to the tube or disconnected before withdrawal of the tube. If the weight is permanently attached to the tube, it must be pulled back up through the digestive tract when the tube is removed. Pulling the weight up through the digestive tract and out the nostril tears tissue and causes severe discomfort to the patient. If the weight is disconnected before withdrawal of the nasogastric tube, the weight must pass intact through the digestive system because it is not digestible.